My family “gets” me.  I know this for many reasons, not least of which is that they know exactly how to spoil me.

Emma was recently in Portland, Oregon visiting a friend.  (Hi, Indi!)  While there, she went to Knit Purl to buy my Christmas presents.  How amazing is that!  Thus, I sat here in England on Christmas morning, opening goodies from a famous Portland yarn shop, brought over the ocean by my daughter from Vancouver.

Emma bought me some beautiful yarn made by Bumblebirch, a local (to Portland) hand-dyer.  This is Wellspring, a 3-ply fingering weight superwash merino, in the colours Rainstorm and Eggplant.  It is so beautiful, and has a very generous 448 metres per skein.  My brain is now very busy contemplating patterns.

As Emma tells it, she had already decided on the Wellspring, when she came across these lovely skeins:

She ended up buying both sets.  These are by another local outfit, Alpha B Yarn.  This is the Luxe B, a gorgeous 50-50 blend of superwash merino and silk that is so soft and springy you have to feel it to believe it.  These colours are Stainless Steel and Pendleton Round-up.

Books are always under our tree.  This year we each received great books, from amazing cookbooks to compendiums of Arabic calligraphy, from ancient Sumerian poetry to politcal manifestos.  Quite a few of mine were textile-related.  Leah gave me World Textiles: A Sourcebook, from the British Museum.  This book is chock-full of the most gorgeous photographs of textiles from their collection, including embroidery from Palestine, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan, Miao textiles from China, textiles from Guatemala, Mexico and the Andes and printed and dyed textiles from Africa.

I love that the book features many up-close photos so that you can see the stitchwork.  Even better, the British Museum is but an hour a way, so I can go and see these fabulous pieces in person as well.

Doug bought me two knitting-related books.  First, the new book by Kate Davies, simply entitled Yokes.  I am so looking forward to perusing this book over the next week.  I love Kate’s designs, but also love her writing style.  Second, a book called Knit for Health and Wellness by Betsan Corkhill.  We know Betsan, and there is no more passionate or knowledgeable advocate of knitting as a means to improve well-being.  If I can, I will write reviews of these books over the coming months.

Last but not least, in my Christmas stocking was a beautiful shawl pin, made by Jul Designs, also purchased at Knit Purl by Emma.

How better to photograph a twig-shaped shawl pin, than as a twig on our winter rose bush?

I have also been knitting for Christmas this year, but to see what I’ve made, you will have to come back in a few days, because, right now I am off to spoil my family!